It’s over. The Ohio State football team’s painful losing streak to Michigan ended at four games last Saturday with the Buckeyes posting a 27-9 victory in Ann Arbor. In celebration of that happy event, this blog will analyze the meanings of four words associated with victory, starting with victory itself followed by triumph, conquest, and win. Those words can be considered synonyms for each other, but as is often the case with synonyms, there are subtle differences in their respective meanings.

Victory is a rather general word meaning the act of overcoming an enemy, antagonist, or opponent. As such, it could apply to a war, an athletic contest, or a board game. In this context, victory applies to a conflict between two or more people, or two or more groups of people. While it will likely involve some combination of skill and luck, it may or may not involve violence.

Victory can also mean achieving mastery or success against challenges or difficulties. These difficulties might involve forces of nature or dangerous circumstances. Consider these examples.

John celebrated his victory over cancer by ringing a bell outside his hospital room.

Ann’s greatest victory came when she scaled a dangerous mountain in the Alps.

Triumph refers to a great success, often one that has been achieved with a lot of skill, effort, and sacrifice. Unless you wanted to exaggerate or be humorous, you probably wouldn’t say John triumphed in his game of tiddlywinks. But given the intense concentration involved with chess, it would be appropriate to declare that John triumphed when he checkmated Bill with his two rooks. Triumph can also be applied on a grander and more-violent scale. The Allies’ triumph in World War II came after millions of lives were lost and hundreds of cities were destroyed.

Conquest is probably the harshest word related to victory. It involves winning through the subjugation of places or people along with the assumption of control over them. It carries the unmistakable threat of violence or its direct application. The Roman Empire, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Nazi Germany all engaged in conquest. To be sure, conquest can be used metaphorically. We could speak of a climber achieving a conquest by reaching the summit of a high mountain or a patient conquering cancer. Think carefully, however, before using this word metaphorically on a person. It could be taken to mean that one person is abusing another in some manner.

Win has a multitude of meanings, including all those associated with victory, triumph, and conquest. In addition, it can mean

• To gain possession of something by effort or work
• To make someone friendly or favorable to oneself or one’s cause, usually used with over
• To persuade to accept oneself in marriage
• To obtain something such as ore, clay, or coal by mining.

Each of these four meanings is seen in the following examples:

• Jill won the promotion by exceeding the goals set for her by management.
• The lawyer won over the jury by presenting evidence that his client was nowhere near the crime scene when the robbery occurred.
• I hope to win Becky’s hand in marriage by telling her I love her every day.
• The north Pennsylvania mine won over 100 tons of coal in 5 hours.

Any of these victory-related words would have been appropriate in describing the result of Ohio State’s gridiron battle with Michigan last Saturday. But as I said in a recent Facebook post, I think it’s time to dial back the hostility that has gripped this rivalry in recent years. Because there’s no victory for anyone if bitterness and resentment ruin what is (for most of us anyway) just a game.